Kimchi
Posted by Maureen on May 30, 2007
This is an informational post about Kimchi. Head over to the Kimchi Recipe section for delicious recipes.
Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables.
Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and cooked with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap). Kimchi is also popular in Japan.
History
The history of kimchi traces back to ancient times. References to kimchi can be found as early as 2600-3000 years ago. The first text-written evidence of its existence can be found in the first Chinese poetry book, ShiKyung. In this book, kimchi was referred as Ji, the term used before it was known as Chimchae.
The earliest form of kimchi consisted of only salted vegetables and It was in the 12th century when people began to include other spices to create different flavors, such as sweet and sour flavors, and colors of kimchi, such as white and orange.
Chili peppers, now a standard ingredient in kimchi, were unknown in Korea until the early 17th century. Chili peppers originated from the New World and were introduced to East Asia by western traders. This particular style of kimchi made with chili peppers and baechu, a variety of Chinese cabbage, gained popularily in the 19th century and this baechu kimchi continues to be the most common and popular form of kimchi today.
